Spider-Man: Home for the Holiday's
by shewritesit18
Summary: The Snap is reversed right before the holiday's, but Peter isn't too worried about eggnog and ginger bread houses right now. He's just trying to get back into the swing of things as he deals with losing Tony, spends time with MJ, catches up in school, puts up with May's holiday shenanigans, and fulfills his role as the newest Avenger. (A fun lil fic I started pre-FFH)
1. Chapter 1

"Mr. Stark...we won...can you hear me, Mr. Stark? We did it...we won... -"

Peter parker jolted out of his sleep, soaked in sweat and breathing heavily. He held his pillow in a tight grasp, shaking it as if it were Tony's shoulders, prompting him to wake up. But the dream ended the same way it always did, with Mr. Stark slowly losing his breath, eyes directly on Peter, whispering with all the life he had left,

"I'm proud of you, kid."

Peter closed his eyes tight, a few tears escaping from underneath, and took a deep breath in. It was just a dream, he said to himself, even though it actually happened. For the last four weeks, Peter had been having the same nightmare of Mr. Stark, right after they defeated Thanos and brought back the vanished. Peter felt as though he should've been happy - his life was saved, as well as so many others. But he couldn't bring himself to be. Not without him here. His only mentor, his father figure. His friend. Peter felt as though he owed everything to Mr. Stark, but because he was no longer here, Peter didn't know how to repay him.

After a few moments, Peter turned onto his side and stared at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It read 5:43AM. It was too early for his liking, so he tried to go back to sleep, though found he couldn't. Peter had lived in Queens his whole life, able to sleep through the constant noise of car horns and sirens, but he didn't have that same luck right now, especially not after that dream. He figured that there was no use in tossing around in bed, so he pushed the covers off of his body and headed towards the kitchen.

The living room was full of more jolly and cheer than Peter actually felt, and even then there wasn't much in the two bedroom apartment to acknowledge the coming holiday. Since Peter, and the other half of the human population, blipped back in the middle of November, Aunt May felt the need to do _something _to recognize Christmas, the first one they'd have together in the past two years. And she did okay with the little that she had after such a traumatic event. A very small Christmas tree stood in the corner of the living room, shining with multi-color Christmas lights and just a few decorations. The room also smelt of gingerbread, curtesy of Aunt May's holiday scented air freshener, and there was a photograph placed on the mantle, above two stockings, of Peter and May before the homecoming dance last year. Peter smiled slightly, happy to be back with his Aunt, but slightly upset at the fact that she'd spent so much time alone.

Peter walked into the kitchen and opened up a cupboard. If he couldn't sleep, he'd at least eat - grabbing a bowl, milk, and a box of cereal for an early breakfast. He sat at the kitchen table eating, trying his best to stay quiet, but his attempts don't succeed. Aunt may must have acquired her own spidey-sense, or maybe she was just extremely intuitive. Either way, she stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Well you're up early, Peter." she said, grinning.

Peter gave her a small smile, then replied to her in between chews, "I'm just used to waking up at this time. You know, for school."

He tried his best to sound convincing, but May didn't buy it. Instead, she walked over to the table, sat down beside him, and raised her eyebrows.

"Hun, you haven't been to school in two years." she said, a matter of fact. "Are you having nightmares again?"

Peter shook his head in disagreement. "No! No nightmares. Those stopped a long time ago."

Of course it's a lie, but Peter didn't want May to worry. When she worried, he worried, and that wouldn't be beneficial to either of them.

May formed a tight line with her lips. "Well, you can't convince me it's because of school. You always woke up twenty minutes after your alarm and then I had to wake you up so you weren't late."

Peter laughed at the old memories of May having to wake him up for school; he wasn't always the best at time management.

"You know, speaking of school, I think I'm ready to go back. The next quarter starts on Monday." Peter said. He'd missed both sophomore and junior year of high school, as the avengers weren't able to reverse thanos's snap right away. It only felt like he'd been gone for two hours, but to the rest of the world, it was two years. Which meant he was seventeen now, and also very behind.

"Are you sure you're ready for that, Peter? You've only been back for a month." May said, but Peter cut her off.

"I'm positive, May. I gotta do something with myself other than stay at home all day." Peter said. He'd stayed at home for the last four weeks, doing nothing but building legos and playing video games with Ned. But that had begun to get boring, and Peter was convinced that it was the reason he was having restless nights. Going back to school, participating in academic decathlon, and seeing his friends would actually be good for him.

Especially getting to see MJ.

"I'll be fine. I promise." Peter said, reassuring may with a smile.

She paused for a moment before responding.

"You know, if you really want to spend your time doing something, you can start by unpacking the rest of the decorations." May said sarcastically, pointing at a box that sat next to the couch. "Don't think I haven't noticed you ignoring it."

Peter laughed a little, then sucked air through his teeth. "You know, I think I'd rather go to school, May. Even English literature sounds way more amusing than...gingerbread houses."

She scoffed at his comment, then playfully swatted Peter on the shoulder.

"What! I can't believe you don't want to help me with Christmas decorating anymore. You used to love putting up the stockings and decorating cookies and taking a picture with Santa at the mall-" May pouted, then pinched Peter's cheek.

"Ahh, c'mon May!" He laughed, wiggling out of her grasp. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

May let's him go, giving him a sad smile.

"I know, I know. I don't know where the time has gone."

And Peter felt his heart get heavy, thinking about how much time he'd been gone, how long May had been alone. So he shoved his disinterest in the holiday aside and decided to support his Aunt, anyways.

"Okay, okay. I'll help." Peter said, and May smiled. Then her eyes went wide.

"Oh! And I almost forgot. Pepper Pots called yesterday. She was asking for you."

Peter's heart raced at the sound of Tony's wife's name.

"What.. what did she want?"

"She's going to be hosting a Christmas charity event this Saturday, in support of those affected by the blip. The rest of the Avenger's are going to be there, too. She was wondering if you wanted to join, as Spider-Man, of course. But only if you're okay with it."

Peter's smile faded just a little. Of course he still wanted to help out the rest of the team, especially for such a good cause. But every time he'd put on the Spidey suit since defeating thanos, he immediately took it off. Why this was, he didn't know, but he felt that he needed a break from it for a while.

But he also felt like he couldn't let Pepper down. Or Morgan, their daughter. Or the rest of the team.

And especially not Tony.

Peter nodded his head, agreeing out of guilt.

"Um, yeah, of course. Tell her I'd love to go."

May leaned forward to give Peter a hug.

"it's going to be alright, okay? You're meant for this Peter. But if it gets to be too much, you let me know, okay?"

"Don't worry, May. I will."


	2. Chapter 2

"Dude, we live in New York. You don't really need a driver's license." Peter's best friend, Ned, said to him. They were walking down the street that same chilly afternoon, and Peter had just registered for drivers ed with the city.

"Ned, how can you say that? You have a one!" Peter exclaimed. Apparently, in the two years that he was gone, Ned had gotten his license. Everyone did; so Peter felt obligated too.

"Yeah, and as a person who lives in New York with a driver's license, I can safely say that it's useless. I still take the bus everywhere." Ned replied.

"Well, that's on you dude. Besides, I'm trying to get back into regular teenage things... like getting a driver's license." Peter said, giving Ned a pointed look. He just shrugged.

"You're about as far from a regular teenager as it gets. I mean you literally went into space, attempted to fight thanos - the universe's most dangerous super villain - but then you failed, dissenegrated into thin air, left for two years, came back and defeated thanos alongside the avengers, and reclaimed your title as Spider-" Ned said quickly, but Peter shushed him when a man dressed in all black passed them by, seemingly listening to the conversation.

"Ned, you gotta keep that on the down low, remember? People know i was gone for two years, but they still don't know that I'm Spider-Man." Peter whispered. Ned shook his head in agreement.

"Sorry, I got excited. No more talk of it, I promise."

"Thanks man." Peter said. They were now approaching the antique shop that Aunt May asked Peter to stop in for the remaining Christmas decorations. Peter walked in, Ned following behind.

"So, we're looking for this star to go on top of the tree." Peter said, pulling up the image on his iPhone. He showed it to Ned, who said he'd keep an eye out for it. But it hadn't even been thirty seconds before Ned distracts Peter with a random question.

"What about MJ? You ever gonna tell her you're... you know..." Peter quickly turned around from looking at reindeer ornaments to face Ned.

"What? No! I can't tell her that, why would I tell her that?" Peter said defensively. Ned puts his hands up in defense.

"Dang, calm down! I was just asking because you two seemed to be really close... I figured you'd want her to know."

Peter shook his head and walked to the next aisle in the shop.

"I mean... we were cool, I guess? But she hasn't seen me in two years. For all I know she's forgotten about me." Peter said.

Before the blip, Peter got to know MJ a little better. She became the captain of the decathlon team, so he spent a lot more time with her than he had before. They had become decent friends, and in that time he realized that yeah, she was different. But she was also smart, and funny, and honestly really pretty. His feelings for her, even after the blip, hadn't changed at all. But Peter's time away from MJ only felt like two hours. For her, it was a whole two years. A lot could have changed during that time...

But Ned just laughed at Peter's comment. "I don't think someone who talks about you all of the time has forgotten about you."

Peter gave Ned a hopeful look. "She...she talks about me?"

"Dude, any chance she gets. All we ever hear is Peter would say this, Peter would do that. Peter is probably her favorite vocabulary word. And that girl knows a lot of words. That's why I'm sayin, you gotta tell her! Don't you think she'll be curious about where you were?"

But Peter didn't answer the question. Instead he just grabbed any old star from the shelf, walked to the register, handed over his money, and thought about the crazy possibility that MJ really hadn't moved on from him, from whatever it was between them. The guy behind the register hands him his bag, and Ned is still asking questions, but Peter is barely listening. Instead he pulled out his cell phone, clicked on the contacts app, and scrolled to find her name in his phone under "MJ :)"

"Does she still have the same number?" Peter asked Ned once they were outside, stepping out into the cold winter air.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Ned said.

Peter looked up at Ned and laughed, "Dude, I would need her number to ask her that."

But Ned was just looking straight ahead, and once Peter followed his gaze, he understood what he was saying.

Because standing in front of them was none other than MJ.

Peter stopped dead in his tracks. It wasn't weird for him to see her because to him, it had only been a few hours. But MJ had gone two years without seeing him, and he wasn't sure what to say. What if she'd changed? It didn't look like it. He observed her for a brief moment, standing in front of the bookstore window. She wore her hair the same, curls falling to her shoulders underneath a beanie. She was also dressed like she usually would be, in a puffer coat, jeans, and her converse

Peter felt his chest get heavy when she finally spotted him. "No shit... Peter Parker?" She said in disbelief.

Peter swallowed hard, unsure of how to respond. So Ned does for him. "Yep, he's back!" Ned said. "Why don't you tell her where you've been Peter?" He whispered this last part.

The three of them were all standing in a circle now. Peter analyzed MJ, her seemingly shocked expression turning into a softer, more genuine one.

"I uh...you know...been home. Cause of the...trauma...from the uh...the blip." Peter stuttered.

MJ looked him up and down. "Well... are you okay?"

Peter nodded a little too forcefully. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'll be at school this week."

Peter noticed MJ smile a little bit, something she very rarely did in the past, and Peter felt a sense of familiarity. Before the blip he and MJ had gotten closer, and even though she made fun of him, he'd always catch her looking at him. The same way she was now.

"Well it's good to have you back. We uh, I mean, I uh. I missed you." MJ said awkwardly, her lips curling up into a smile.

"I...I missed you too." Peter stuttered, and even though he felt awkward, it didn't seem to phase MJ.

Ned cleared his throat, and Peter jumped. He'd almost forgotten Ned was standing there. "So I got a thing to get to." Ned said, walking off. Peter widened his eyes, realizing that Ned was about to leave him alone with MJ. "But I'll catch you two later."

Ned waited until he walked past MJ to wink at Peter, so MJ wouldn't see him. Peter started to panic- what was he supposed to say to the girl he really liked when she hadn't seen him in forever? But Peter didn't have to figure out the answer - MJ offers it for him.

"So... you wanna hangout, maybe? I'm just in town 'cause I have to run some errands so like if you wanted to join me I wouldn't mind since you're already here and-"

"Of course I would." Peter said, interrupting her rant.

MJ stopped speaking, surprised Peter said yes. "Okay, cool." MJ said.

There was an awkward pause before she finally stepped forward in Peter's direction while Peter also stepped forward in her direction. They were momentarily just inches away from each other, until both Peter and MJ laughed nervously, backing away simultaneously.

"You lead the way." Peter said to her.

MJ smiled, then started walking towards the bookstore on the corner of the street. and Peter followed in suit, feeling really lucky.


	3. Chapter 3

"Please tell me these books are for class and not what you read for fun." Peter said to MJ. They were standing in a narrow isle in the bookstore, old Christmas music playing in the background. Peter leaned against the bookshelf, watching while MJ searched for yet _another_ book. A pile of them were already in her arms, so she used her free hand to run her index finger alongside the spine of the books, deep in thought.

"What's that supposed to mean, Parker?" She asked, though without breaking concentration. At one point Peter would've been intimidated by a comment like this from MJ. But he was already feeling more comfortable around her, like nothing had changed, so he continues to mess with her.

"It means you're... a dork." Peter said playfully. MJ glared at him then turned away, but not before he detected the hint of a smile on her face.

"Well, these books are neither for class nor for fun. They're for you." She said, a matter of fact. She looked through the books for a few more seconds before choosing one, titled "19th century American Literature."

"For me? Why?" Peter asked as she marched towards the register.

"Because academic decathlon waits for no one. And you, my friend, need to be prepared. I won't accept any slackers on my team, Parker." Peter laughed as MJ paid for the books.

"I think I'm plenty prepared for decathlon. I feel like I was just at practice yesterday." MJ whipped around with the books in her hands and shoved them into Peter's arms.

"Peter, you were gone from the team for a year and a half. You've officially outdone your tardy streak and not only are you behind. You're behind behind. Like I said, lots of work to do." MJ gave Peter a big smile, expecting him to laugh at her joke, but he didn't. Peter had forgotten that the blip was two years long for MJ and it reminded him just how much things had really changed, how much he really missed. MJ sensed the mistake in her comment and felt the need to apologize.

"Peter, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be insensitive..." MJ said sincerely.

"No, don't worry about it, MJ. I know you didn't mean it like that." Peter re-assured her. They exited the bookstore and fell in step with one another, Peter holding the bag of books and MJ still feeling bad about what she said.

"So, uh, how much free time ya got left?" He asked her, not wanting their outing to stop now.

MJ shrugged. "Plenty. My mom wants me home by eight but she's working tonight so really that means...whenever I want."

Peter nodded, then it got quiet again. He tried to think of something else to say until MJ spoke up.

"Would you want to grab dinner maybe? We could go to this new pizza place that opened last year, on me. I feel shitty about what I said back there."

Peter cursed himself for not asking her to dinner himself, what kind of guy lets the girl ask first? But he was more so excited that she wanted to spend the rest of the day with him and agreed to the date. Or, whatever it's called.

"Yeah, I'm all for it." He said. "But you don't have to do that, MJ. Matter of fact, dinner is on me. For skipping decathlon practice for the last two years." He nudged her shoulder playfully, reassuring her that the comment didn't bother him, and MJ smiled, feeling relieved.

They made it to the pizza place, and Peter tried to be as gentlemen like as possible. He first opened the door for MJ. Then he ordered one large pizza for them, vegetarian, and MJ was impressed that he remembered. After he paid, they took a table near the window and stuffed their faces with pizza while MJ caught Peter up on everything he'd missed.

"So Flash. Is he still as obnoxious as before?" Peter asked MJ. She nodded, and it took her a moment to answer because her mouth was full of pizza. She chewed hurriedly, and Peter couldn't help but to think she was so cute, with her cheeks puffed out like that.

"The worst." She said between chews. "That kid'll never change."

Peter laughed. "Doubt it. What about Betty?"

"She's good. She and I have gotten a lot closer, actually. So has she and Ned."

Peter raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean, Betty and Ned?"

MJ dipped her pizza slice into some ranch, took a bite, then answered. "They've gotten super close. And it's none of my business and I'm not one to gossip but I would almost say...they like each other."

Peter nearly choked on the pizza crust he was working on. Ned hadn't mentioned any of this.

"I mean, I've only been back for a month, but Ned hasn't said anything about her." Peter said.

"I could be wrong." MJ said, then she rethought her comment. "Actually, that's highly unlikely. I'm probably right. But it's just something I noticed." MJ said.

Peter narrowed his eyes at her, "Right. Because you're, _very observant_." He said playfully.

"Hey! Observation is my super-power. I know things other people don't." She said.

"So you're basically psychic." Peter asked, jokingly. But MJ was completely serious.

"Call it whatever you want, Parker. Still my super- power."

"Alright. Whatever you say, MJ." It was quiet for a moment, until MJ noticed Peter's bag from the antique store on the table.

"Hey, what did you get from there?" MJ said, pointing at the bag.

"Oh, uh, just a star to go on our Christmas tree. Wanna see?"

"Sure."

Peter showed MJ what was inside. "Wow, it's pretty. They always have neat things in there."

"Do you shop there a lot?"

MJ scoffed. "No way, but I wish. There's this super pretty necklace in there though, a black dahlia necklace, but I can't affor it."

Peter raised his eyebrows. "Black Dahlia?"

"Yeah. Like the murder?"

"Oh, right. Of course that's something you'd be interested in." Peter joked, but he made a mental note to remember this particular item, just for future reference.

"Don't be sassy, Parker." MJ says. "Now on to the real mystery.. who's eating that last slice of pizza?" She pointed down at the plate they were sharing, the last triangular piece of pizza sitting there. He shrugged his shoulders before answering.

"Easy. Me." Peter reached for the slice but MJ swiped his hand away.

"And why's that?" She asked.

"Simple. I'm older than you." Peter shrugged, going for the pizza again. MJ caught his wrist, holding it in place, and Peter's skin suddenly heated up.

"Ehhh not really. You're still 15 in my eyes." MJ said. She felt a little more comfortable joking about the blip with him now, and it actually made Peter laugh.

"Fine. I paid for it." He said. This time MJ let his hand go, to Peter's dismay.

"Mm, nice one, Parker. But you said you would so I have no sympathy for you." Peter thought for a moment, then said,

"Why don't we split it? That's the right thing to do." MJ squinted her eyes and thought on this for a moment, but stops her train of thought as Peters phone begins to ring. He fumbled in his pocket until he found his phone, seeing Pepper's number pop up.

"Sorry, I gotta take this." Peter said to MJ, who shook her head, understandingly.

"Hey Pepper." Peter said nervously, walking towards the men's restroom. He hadn't spoken to Pepper in what felt like ages.

"Hi Peter." Pepper said sweetly. "How are you?""

"Umm, I'm good, doing good." Peter said. "What about you?"

"Same, as good as I can be. Staying busy with Morgan, of course." She said. "Morgan, honey Peter's on the phone."

"Hi Peter!" She hollered from the background.

"Morgan, Hey!" Peter said. He felt his chest tighten, speaking to Mr. Stark's family. He suddenly longed for Tony to hop into the conversation, too.

Peter sighed before continuing, "Hey, look Pepper, I'm really sorry I haven't called you guys in the last month. It's just been really hard to-"

"Don't worry about it, Peter." She said. "It's been hard on us all. You deserve as much time to grieve as everyone else." Peter shook his head, even though Pepper couldn't see him agreeing. But if he were to speak right now, he's probably give in to a fit of tears- so he settled for silence instead. After a moment, Pepper finally speaks again.

"I just wanted to let you know that May told me about you joining the charity event this weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing you there, Peter. If you're still up for it, of course."

"I'll be there for sure. It's a really awesome thing you're doing, Pepper. And I want to be a part of it. I'm sure Mr. Stark would want all of us to."

This time, Pepper is silent over the phone for a minute.

"Yes, I'm... I'm sure he would." Pepper trembles. "I wanted to ask you a question, though, Peter."

"Yeah, Of course. Ask anything."

"Would you consider doing a speech at the event? I know it's only two days away, but it doesn't have to be anything fancy or long."

Peter gulped. He wasn't the best at public speaking, considering how awkward he could be. But he figured this would be his only chance to really thank Mr. Stark, to rightfully give him credit for saving the entire world.

"Yes. I'll do it." Peter agreed, without hesitation. He could almost hear Pepper smile through the phone.

"Really? Ah, that's great to hear Peter. Feel free to run it by me or Happy before Saturday if you need help. But you're a smart kid. I'm sure it'll be great anyways."

"Thanks Pepper. Sounds good."

"You're welcome. I'll send all of your travel information later tonight. Call if you need anything."

Peter smiled before saying goodbye to Pepper and hanging up the phone. Now he just had to figure out what he was going to say at the event this weekend – and needed as much time as possible to do it. He wished he could ask MJ for help, knowing how good of a writer she was, but he wasn't ready to tell her he was Spider-Man just yet. Instead, he walked back to their table

"Hey, MJ. This has been really fun, but I think I ought to get home. Got some work to do before uh, before school." He told her, sadly. He really didn't want their day to end, but he needed time to work on his speech.

MJ frowned little, but then nodded her head, understandingly. "Oh, alright then. Thanks for hanging out with me today." She smiled, assembling her trash onto the plate. Peter stopped her.

"I'll still walk you home. I'm not in that much of a rush." He said, but MJ hesitated for a moment.

"Um, that's okay. I live kind of far from here and I wouldn't want to make you go all the way out there." Peter started to protest, but MJ seemed adamant about her decision. So he didn't push. He saw it as an opportunity, however, for something else he wanted to do.

"Okay. Well... will you at least let me know when you make it home?" He asked her.

"Sure." MJ said. "Do you uh, do you still have my number?" "

"Umm, let me make sure it's the right one."

Peter pulled out his phone and showed it to MJ, who confirmed that he did have the right number. Then they walked outside together and lingered for a moment.

"Well, I'll see you at school on Monday." He said to her.

"Yeah. Don't be late." She forewarned him.

Peter smiled. "I won't! Why do you assume that I'll be late?"

"I'm messing with you." She smiled. "Even though it's kind of a habit of yours."

"Is it really?" Peter asked.

"Yes. A very bad one" MJ laughed. "Well, I'm gonna get goin. See ya, Parker."

And so Peter watched her walk off into the sea of people, waiting until she was out of sight, and retreated to a back alley before he made his way home. There was something he wanted to try, something he hadn't done in the last month, and figured now would be a good time to do it. He unzipped his backpack and shuffled through it before pulling out the suit Mr. Stark gave him – quickly changing out of his street clothes and into the suit. Once he was dressed, the voice activation system, or Karen, greeted him.

"Welcome back Mr. Parker." She said. "Long time, no see."

"Heeeey Karen." Peter said, quite happily. "It has been a while. Sorry I cheated on ya with the Iron Spidey suit."

"That's okay, Peter. I'm programmed to look past those kinds of things, and am here whenever you need me."

Peter slung his backpack over his shoulder before responding. "Thanks, Karen. Now let's get home."

Peter took a deep breath before climbing up the alley wall and onto the top of the building. He looked down at all the commotion below, felt the cold winter air breeze by, and knew that he was ready for what he was about to do. For who he was meant to be.

After a few seconds of standing on the building, Peter jumped off, swinging from building to building. He hadn't felt this good in a long time and he smiled to himself, the whole way he swung home.

It felt good to be back.

Peter was out of breath once he made it home, climbing through his bedroom window. He even had to lie down, still in the suit and everything.

"You should probably start a new workout regime, Peter." Karen says to him

"Yeah, thanks for that tip, Karen." Peter said.

"Who are you talking to, Peter?" Aunt May said through his door. She reaches for the handle and walks in.

"There you are, I thought you'd never come back!" She exclaimed. "Where's my star? For the tree?"

Peter lifted up and reached into his bag for the star. When he handed it to May, she frowned.

"This isn't the right one, Peter." She said.

Peter pretends he hadn't noticed. "Really? It's not?"

May purses her lips. "No, it isn't! But don't worry about it. You know you loved to pick out the star when you were a little kid, it's just like old times-"

"C'mon May-" Peter said, trying to stop her.

"Alright, alright. Dinner is in ten." She said, walking away.

"I already ate!" Peter called to her. She stopped in her tracks and came back to Peter, a questioning look on her face.

"Oh really? So you didn't want any of my beef stew?" She said sarcastically. Peter laughed a little, then replied.

"No, no. Not particularly." He joked. May made a face but was quickly replaced with excitement when he told her the truth.

"I had pizza with MJ."

"MJ huh?" May said, raising her eyebrows.

"Cmon May, it's not like that." Even though it definitely was like that. But Peter didn't want to admit this too soon.

"Mhm. Sure." May said, shutting his room door.

The mention of MJ reminded Peter to text her and make sure she was home safe.

To MJ: You make it home? He hit send, and she responded almost immediately.

To Peter: No... I was captured by an alien race and they're holding me hostage on a space ship!

Peter laughed to himself. classic MJ.

To MJ: Glad you made it home safe. :)

He winced a little at the addition of the smiley face. Was it too much? Too dorky? He worried over this for a few moments until she texted him back.

To Peter: Thanks for checking. You're a real nice guy when you're not being a total dork :p

Peter smiled really wide at the text – things seemed to be going pretty good. He was swinging again, talking to MJ, registered for driver's ed. Now all he needed to do was write his speech for the charity event. But more importantly – for Tony.


End file.
